


Coincidences

by Eggling



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (1963)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-02
Updated: 2017-08-02
Packaged: 2018-12-10 05:25:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,409
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11684991
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Eggling/pseuds/Eggling
Summary: Everything he had ever learnt was telling him this was wrong, but the Doctor seemed to have a way of making things he thought he knew vanish into thin air as easily as he had made the TARDIS leave Drumossie moor. Boxes could be bigger on the inside and people could turn into fish and his soulmate could be a funny wee faerie man and he could kiss the Doctor and that could feel like the best thing in the world, and why should all those things not be true?





	Coincidences

**Author's Note:**

> for [ettelwenailinon](ettelwenailinon.tumblr.com).

A flicker of movement in the corner of the Doctor’s eye pulled his attention away from the laird’s wounds, and he turned to see Jamie leaning heavily against the wall as if his legs were about to give way. Their eyes met for a moment, and Jamie shook his head slightly, the panic in his expression telling the Doctor that he was far more overwhelmed than he had been letting on. A part of him warned that Jamie might not appreciate attention being drawn to the state he was in, but the tug of protectiveness was already too strong for him to resist.

Stepping forwards, he took Jamie’s arm and started to guide him to a less crowded corner of the cell. “Ah – shellshock, you understand,” he called over his shoulder to the others. “He’ll be alright.” He guided Jamie onto the floor, and knelt before him, watching him with concern but also a touch of curiosity. The space between them seemed infinite, a gulf the Doctor wanted to cross but was unsure of how to approach.

“It’s no’ shellshock,” Jamie murmured. “I’m just tired is all. I’ll be fine once I’ve had a wee rest.”

“It’s not entirely shellshock,” the Doctor corrected him. “You’re exhausted and malnourished, yes, but you’ve also just experienced a traumatic event. It’s perfectly normal.” He paused, considering his next words carefully. “And it’s not everyday one bumps into their soulmate, is it?”

Jamie’s head snapped up, his eyes wide with shock, as if he had not realised what had happened. Surely he _had_ realised, the Doctor thought. He had seen Jamie’s expression when their fingers had brushed together, the way he had flinched as he registered the change. It was impossible for him not to have noticed the colours bleeding into his vision, the sparks skittering and leaping out into the air around them as they touched.

“No’ so loud,” Jamie hissed, craning his neck to see over the Doctor’s shoulder. “The others -”

“Are far too occupied with your laird and the predicament we’re in to be listening in on our conversation,” the Doctor said. “We’re quite safe.” He reached over to put his hand on Jamie’s, feeling Jamie turn his hand over almost automatically to twine their fingers together. In unison, they looked down at the sparks leaping out from between their palms – not a bright, loving gold, but not a cold blue, either; a warm, trusting reddish colour. Trust. That was a good start. “I don’t think now’s the time to be figuring out what this means, do you?”

Jamie shook his head, still staring down at the sparks as if he was transfixed by them. “I wasnae sure how I wanted tae meet my soulmate, but I was sure I didnae want it like this,” he choked out after a moment. “There were always stories – men meeting their soulmate on the battlefield, seein’ the colours only tae kill them and live wi’ the shame of it, or tae be killed themselves. I didnae ever think it would happen tae me.”

“Well, we’re both safe for now,” the Doctor said. “But we are in considerable danger, locked up in here.” He leant forwards, dropping his voice a notch. “Jamie – I want you to trust me, whatever happens.”

“Do ye have a plan?” There was a note of eagerness in Jamie’s voice already, a spark of hope in his eyes.

“Not, a plan, precisely. But I certainly don’t intend on dying here. I’ve never had a soulmate before, and I’m rather interested in finding out what it means.”

* * *

_“Polly?”_

_“Yes, Doctor?”_

_“I was wondering if you could help me.”_

_“I’ll try.” She looked worried, the Doctor thought. Like a nurse fussing over a recovering patient. He had hardly seen her wear any other expression since his change. A part of him wished she would stop treating him as if he might break at any moment, but another understood that she sensed what he had known since his regeneration – that something was missing._

_“Would you fetch me that book up there?” He gestured to a heavy, leather-bound volume, left alone on a high shelf._

_Nodding, Polly dragged a ladder over to retrieve the book. “You’ve locked yourself away in here for days now. Are you going to land the TARDIS somewhere new soon?” She huffed when the Doctor simply shrugged, still absorbed in his book. “Doctor, we’re worried about you. You’ve hardly even talked to us lately.”_

_“I’m busy.” The Doctor took the book from her without even looking up, opening it and scanning the index. “Oh, yes. This is more like it.” He rifled through the papers littering the desk. “Now, if I could just find my pencil...”_

_“Here.” Polly bent to pick it up off the floor, and the Doctor caught her casting her eye over his notes as she did so. She turned her head from side to side, trying to make sense of the incomprehensible Gallifreyan lettering. “What are you doing?”_

_The Doctor paused, considering whether or not to be honest with her. It could do no harm, he thought. If he sated her curiosity, she might let him continue his work in peace. “I haven’t seen colours since – ah – since I was renewed. I have to understand what went wrong.”_

_“Haven’t seen colours?” Polly frowned. “Maybe -” She cut herself off with a laugh. “Oh, nevermind. It’s silly.”_

_“What is?” At last, the Doctor looked up from his notes, giving Polly his full attention._

_She shrugged. “Maybe you’ve got a soulmate.”_

_“That’s not possible.” Shaking his head, the Doctor returned to his notes. “My people don’t have soulmates. I don’t see how I could end up with one.”_

_“There, told you it was silly.” Polly touched him on the shoulder. “Anyway, I only came in here to offer you a cup of tea.”_

_“Mm.” The Doctor looked back at his notes once more. “Put in plenty of sugar, would you?” He tossed the papers back on the table, tapping his fingers against his lips. Perhaps he ought to see if he had any books on humans and their odd little soulmates system, just to be sure._

* * *

“Ben and the Doctor,” Polly gasped out, collapsing onto the nearest boulder. “Do you think they’ll make it?”

Jamie cast a glance back at the mouth of the cave they had emerged from. “Aye, they will.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“They’re not dead yet, are they?” Jamie gestured at their surroundings. “If they were, we’d know about it.”

“Yes, but -” A touch of hysterical fear returned to Polly’s voice. “What if they’re trapped somewhere and can’t get out? Or the water catches up to them after all?” Jamie found himself unable to argue with that. Every minute that passed felt less like he was waiting for Ben and the Doctor to join them, and more like he was waiting for the colours to begin leaching out of his vision. Polly reached up to take his hand. “I’m sorry, Jamie.”

“What for?”

“You’d only just met the Doctor. It wouldn’t be fair to lose him so quickly.” She gave a sad smile. “At least Ben and I have had some time together. You barely know him.”

“I – the Doctor and me, we’re not...” Jamie trailed off, unable to deny Polly’s sympathy with any real conviction. “Aye, alright. He’s my soulmate. But we musn’t give up hope, Polly.”

She turned back towards the cave mouth. “I can’t see anyone.”

“Wheesht,” Jamie hissed. Drawing his dirk, he crept cautiously towards the cave. A sudden shout made him step backwards in alarm, readying himself to strike until he caught sight of a familiar figure. “You?”

“Me?” The Doctor stepped out of the shadows, seeming just as surprised as Jamie was.

“We thought you were dead!” Shock and relief were keeping Jamie frozen in place, even as some instinctive drive urged him to run to the Doctor and make sure he was alright.

“Us?” The Doctor broke into a wide smile as Polly rushed over to hug him. “Polly, good to see you.” He chuckled fondly as Polly quickly disentangled herself from him, all but flinging herself into Ben’s arms. “Jamie?”

Finally regaining control of himself, Jamie pulled the Doctor into the tightest hug he could manage. He buried his face in the Doctor’s neck, letting the reassuring contact drown out everything around him. Distantly, he was aware of the roaring of the sea, sparks tumbling over them from where their skin touched, Polly’s quiet suggestion that she and Ben give them a minute alone, but none of it seemed to matter. “I thought I’d lost ye,” he mumbled.

“Oh, I think you’ll find you’ll not be rid of me that easily,” the Doctor said, chuckling and squeezing his waist.

“Good.” Jamie drew back from the hug just enough to see the Doctor’s face properly, his arms still draped around his shoulders. His eyes were beginning to sting with tears, and he brushed them away impatiently, inwardly cursing how open and raw the emotions caused by the soulmate bond were. “Och, the salt’s gettin’ in my eyes.”

“Of couse.”

“Ye don’t believe me.”

“We were just separated for a rather long period of time, and subjected to considerable danger.” The Doctor sounded rather satisfied with himself for seeing through Jamie’s feeble lie, but somehow his smug smile was the most beautiful thing Jamie had ever seen. “I’d be worried if you hadn’t felt some anxiety about it.” His smile turned sheepish. “I – ah – I felt it, too. I thought perhaps you and Polly wouldn’t make it out of the tunnels.”

Jamie dipped his head forwards, resting their foreheads together. “Och, I’m fine.” He laughed, a little breathlessly. “I’m no’ really sure why I’m doing this.”

“Oh. I was quite enjoying it.” The Doctor’s gaze flickered down to his lips for a moment. “Funny, isn’t it? How the soulmate bond makes you feel like that.”

“Like what?”

The Doctor kissed him, tentatively and a little clumsily, but with an eagerness that was somehow endearing. Tangling one hand in the Doctor’s hair, Jamie pressed them closer together and kissed him back. Everything he had ever learnt was telling him this was wrong, but the Doctor seemed to have a way of making things he thought he knew vanish into thin air as easily as he had made the TARDIS leave Drumossie moor. Boxes could be bigger on the inside and people could turn into fish and his soulmate could be a funny wee faerie man and he could kiss the Doctor and that could feel like the best thing in the world, and why should all those things not be true? Why should he not kiss his soulmate and feel only warmth and delight, not shame and horror at himself?

Breaking the kiss, he opened his eyes slowly, drawing a deep breath. The sharp tang of salt in the air grounded him a little, but the Doctor was smiling at him, making his heart leap in his chest. Bright golden sparks were falling in a great waterfall around them, and he started to laugh at the ridiculousness of it all, feeling as if he could not hold all his joy inside himself.

The Doctor reached out to touch the sparks, cupping his palm to catch them, watching them fade. “Like that.” He laughed too, and Jamie struggled to resist the urge to kiss him again. “I’ve seen so many things, met so many people, but nothing’s ever made me feel like that.”

Jamie grinned. “I dinnae think I’ve seen so many things, but nothing’s ever made me feel like that, either.”

“I, ah, suppose we ought to be getting back.” The Doctor glanced down towards the TARDIS. “Ben and Polly will be waiting for us.” Tentatively, he took Jamie’s hand. “That was very nice, Jamie.”

“Aye, I thought so too.” Jamie kissed the Doctor’s cheek. “Maybe we can do it again later.”

“Oh, I do hope so.”

* * *

“You’re quite astounding, you know.”

Sleepily, Jamie blinked up at the Doctor. “What’s so astounding about my hands?” The Doctor had been playing with one of his hands for nearly an hour now, turning it over, tracing out the veins, kissing his knuckles. He did not seem to have grown bored of it yet, so Jamie had decided to take advantage of the chance to enjoy a lazy morning.

“No, no, I meant all of you, not just your hands. Your very existence is astounding to me.”

“Is it?” It was too early for the Doctor’s philosophical ramblings. Jamie closed his eyes again.

“Mm. That’s not to say I don’t love your hands -” The Doctor kissed his palm - “because I do. And your shoulders.” He leant down to plant a soft kiss on Jamie’s shoulder. “And your neck, and behind your jaw, and your nose, and your cheek, and your eyes, and your forehead.” He kissed each spot as he spoke.

“And my lips?”

“And your lips.” The Doctor kissed him lingeringly, as if he was comfortable where he was and was reluctant to break the kiss and move away. “But that still isn’t what I meant.”

“What did ye mean, then?”

“Oh, nothing in particular.” Jamie gave a huff of mock frustration, and the Doctor smiled fondly. “I was just thinking about how lucky I am to have you as my soulmate.”

“Och, you’re such a big sap.”

“Maybe so. But I don’t think you’d like the thought of being alone, either.”

“But ye wouldn’t be alone.” Jamie opened his eyes again, frowning up at the Doctor. “You’d just have someone else.”

“My people don’t have soulmates.”

It took a while for the Doctor’s words to sink in. “What?” Jamie pushed himself upright. “What do ye mean, don’t have soulmates?” He took the Doctor’s hands. “But ye saw the colours when we first met. And ye can see the sparks, I know ye can.”

“Of course I can.” The Doctor shrugged. “It happened after I… after I _changed_.” He cupped Jamie’s face, clearly seeing worry written there. “It doesn’t mean you’re not still my soulmate, or that I don’t love you. Just that it was a little unexpected. But it was certainly the most interesting thing to happen to me in a very long time.”

Jamie grinned. “Good. I’d hate for ye tae be bored.” He flopped back against he pillows, pulling the Doctor down with him. “How do your people manage without knowing who your soulmate is, or -” He brushed his fingers over the Doctor’s cheek. “Or what they’re feelin’?”

“You know, I’m not quite sure anymore.” The Doctor nuzzled into Jamie’s chest, closing his eyes. “How do humans manage, loving someone so much and only having one fragile heart to hold it?”

“Now you’re just bein’ silly. Ye told me we don’t really feel things with our hearts.”

“I’m never just silly. It was a perfectly viable question.”

* * *

The sound of tentative footsteps in the corridor outside made the Doctor look up from his book. As he had suspected, Jamie was standing in the doorway of his study, tapping his fingers on the doorframe nervously. He glanced along the corridor, as if he was expecting to see Ben or Polly there.

“Can I talk to ye about something?” he asked.

“Of course.” Leaving his book on the table beside his chair, the Doctor went to close the doors. “In private, I assume?” Jamie nodded. “Is something wrong?”

“No’ really.” Jamie stared down at the floor. “Can we get married? Tonight?”

“I’m – I’m sorry?” Too many thoughts were running through the Doctor’s head at once for him to sort through them and come up with a coherent answer. “ _Married_?”

“Aye.” Jamie looked terribly embarrassed, and the Doctor wished he had not been so obviously taken aback by the offer. “I just thought – Polly said they’d let two men get married here, and – och, nevermind. It was just an idea.”

“Jamie!” Catching Jamie’s arm before he could leave the room, the Doctor held him still. “I’m not opposed to the idea – quite the opposite, in fact. But aren’t we moving rather quickly?”

“Quickly?”

“We’ve only known each other a few months.”

“It’s no’ proper,” Jamie protested. “Us bein’ together like this, when we could have been married ages ago.”

A memory was stirring in the Doctor’s mind, one from his previous self. Ben and Polly had arranged to be married as soon as they had landed in a suitable place, only a few short weeks after they had met. “Jamie,” he said slowly. “How soon do people usually get married after finding their soulmate?”

Jamie shrugged. “A month, maybe. Polly talks like it’s a wee bit different in her time, though.”

The pieces were falling together, and the Doctor could not help but laugh. “Are you trying to protect our respectability, Jamie?”

“No! Och – maybe. Just a bit.” Jamie smiled a little self-consciously. “I dinnae even have a ring tae give ye.”

“That’s quite alright, I think we can make do.” The Doctor fished in his pockets for a moment. “Here we are.” To Jamie’s surprise, he pulled out a ring set with a large, blue stone. “My old signet ring. It doesn’t fit me anymore, but it should fit you.” He looked down at himself, brushing at the creases in his shirt. “Ah – perhaps I ought to neaten myself up a little before the ceremony.”

“Never thought I’d hear ye say that,” Jamie teased. He kissed the Doctor’s forehead gently. “Alright. Ten minutes?”

“Yes, I’ll meet you in the console room.” The Doctor turned the ring over in his hands as the door closed behind Jamie. Married bliss in perhaps half an hour, he mused. Having Jamie as his soulmate seemed to come with all sorts of unexpected surprises.

* * *

“You and me, we’re finished.”

The Doctor stared almost uncomprehendingly at Jamie. “Finished?” he said quietly. “But Jamie, you can’t -”

“I can,” Jamie snapped. “Don’t think I won’t.”

Only then did the Doctor register that Jamie was cradling the bond between them in his mind. It seemed so fragile in his grasp, especially in the face of Jamie’s rage, and the Doctor knew that he was more than capable of breaking it. He shuddered at the very idea. Would he still see in colour, or would his vision fade to black and white? Would he have a chance to explain himself to Jamie and reform the bond, or would they be separated forever? Would Jamie even want him to try?

Jamie threw something at him, and he fumbled to catch it. For a brief moment, he wondered if Jamie had intended it to hurt him, but when he uncurled his fingers, he found that he was holding his own signet ring. Jamie’s wedding ring. “Take it,” Jamie spat. “I don’t want it anymore.”

The Doctor reached out to Jamie, trying to brush their fingers together and show him the sparks, bright gold with love and soft green with worry and fear, but Jamie flinched away. Perhaps that was just as well, the Doctor thought – if Jamie severed the bond, he hardly wanted his last memory of the sparks to be of a cold, furious blue on Jamie’s end. “Jamie, dear, what’s the matter?” Deep down, he already knew the answer.

“Anyone would think this was a little game.” Jamie’s eyes were blazing with fury now, his mental grasp on their bond tightening. “Ye know, I don’t think ye ever loved me at all. Ye were just using me, weren’t ye? I dinnae ken why I ever believed I was your _soulmate_.”

“Jamie!” The Doctor reached out to him again, but Jamie snatched his hand away. “I know what it looks like, but – but it’s not true! I never intended for you to be used in this way. Do you think I let you go through that Dalek test lightly?”

“I don’t know. Did you?” The Doctor took a step back, disarmed. He understood that Jamie was hurt, but he had never expected this level of doubt. “Look, Doctor, just whose side are you on?”

The clunk of a packing case falling open made Jamie wheel around to look for the source of the noise before the Doctor could even begin to answer. He reached for his knife instinctively, and the Doctor touched his arm, taking the fact that Jamie did not flinch away as a sign that there was still some hope. “It’s alright, Jamie. They’re friends.”

* * *

The Doctor was lying with his back to Jamie, still enough that anyone else might have thought he was sleeping. But there was a tension in his shoulders that Jamie knew meant he was still awake, keeping a watch over the door of the cell. A silent, thankless vigil, doubtless full of worry and regret, the endless wondering of what could have been done differently. A part of Jamie – the part that was still angry, that told him to break the bond without a second thought and walk away – hated that he understood the Doctor so well, but the flash of resentment was gone within seconds. He could not bring himself to abandon what was between them so easily.

He glanced around at the others cautiously, reassured by the fact that they all appeared to be asleep. The illusion of privacy lent him enough confidence to finally sit down on the low chair beside the one occupied by the Doctor, readying himself to speak. “I’m sorry.”

“You have nothing to be sorry for.” The Doctor did not raise his head from where it rested against his arm, his voice muffled by his coat. “I should have trusted you enough to explain what was happening.”

“And I should have trusted that ye were doing what was best for everyone.” Tentatively, Jamie pushed his chair a little closer, reaching out to put his arm over the Doctor’s side. “I’m sorry for bein’ angry with ye.”

“You had every right to be.” The Doctor sounded bitter, but Jamie knew that it was directed only at himself. “I ought to trust my soulmate, of all people.”

“Aye, well, that makes two of us.” Closing the distance between them, Jamie pressed his chest against the Doctor’s back, pulling the Doctor more securely into his arms. To his immense relief, the Doctor did not pull away. Gathering his courage, he reached over to lace their fingers together, watching anxiously as the sparks began to fall. Golden light cast a soft glow over their joined hands, and Jamie felt as if all his worries had melted away with the sight of them. There were still green sparks mixed in with the gold – they were imprisoned by the Daleks, with no escape plan, and no way of stopping them from infecting earth with the Dalek factor. But the sparks were still there, still bright and gold with love, and he could still see in colour. He had not broken the connection between them with his carelessness.

“Would you have done it?” the Doctor said quietly.

“Done what?”

“Severed the bond.”

Jamie considered it for a moment. “I don’t know,” he said at last. “Maybe. But I would’ve done anything tae get it back once I came to my senses, I know that much.” He grinned, ducking his head and pressing his forehead against the Doctor’s shoulder. “I suppose we’ve both been a wee bit daft.”

“Yes, I suppose we have.” The Doctor fished around in his pockets for a moment. “Will you be wanting this back?”

Jamie nodded. “Aye, of course I will.”

The Doctor slid his wedding ring back onto his finger, then squeezed his hand, affectionately but with a touch of dismissal. There was more to say, Jamie knew, the memory of their fight still a painful wound in need of healing, but now was not the time. “You’d best get some sleep. I’ll find us a way out of here in the morning.”

“If there is one.” Sitting up a little, Jamie kissed the Doctor’s cheek before settling back down beside him. “Goodnight, Doctor.”

“Goodnight, Jamie.” The Doctor hesitated. “I do love you, you know.”

“Aye, I know. I love ye, too.”

* * *

Silence echoed out across the room as the Doctor looked between Jamie and Victoria with a mixture of curiosity and concern, making no effort to get up from the floor. Victoria had lowered her arm, but she still looked ready to strike him if he so much as moved too quickly. Jamie was simply studying the Doctor’s face, his brow furrowed in thought. Cautiously, the Doctor stood up. “I wouldn’t leave you in the tender mercies of Salamander.

“Doctor?” Jamie said tentatively.

“You don’t believe me.” The Doctor gave what he hoped was a reassuring smile, his heart sinking as Jamie took a half-step backwards. He held out his hand. “Come here.”

Slowly, Jamie reached up to take his hand. He jerked when their fingers brushed together, as if he had received an electric shock, and Victoria made as if to pull them apart, clearly thinking Jamie was hurt. She stopped when she saw Jamie take the Doctor’s other hand and close his eyes. The Doctor closed his eyes too, concentrating on a tune until he heard Jamie humming it quietly. _Twinkle Twinkle Little Star_ – and the response, coming from Jamie’s mind, not his own. Before he had even opened his eyes, he found himself swept into a tight hug, his mind awash with not only his own relief but Jamie’s, too.

“Only you made me leave it in the TARDIS, he said, smiling.

Jamie kissed his cheek enthusiastically, all but beaming in return. “It’s him, it’s the Doctor!” he exclaimed to Victoria – a little pointlessly, the Doctor thought, given that Jamie was hugging him, but it seemed to put the last of Victoria’s doubts at rest, and she grabbed hold of his arm happily.

“TARDIS?” Bruce repeated. “ _TARDIS_? What’s that?”

“Well, it’s a little place we three have in common.” Jamie’s hand was resting on the Doctor’s shoulder, his fingers curling around his collar to brush against his neck, and the Doctor leant into his touch. The contact was not quite enough to establish a full mental link, but he could still feel Jamie’s elation at their reunion, his frustration that there was no time for anything more than a quick brushing together of their minds. It was hardly enough to reassure them and relieve the pain of having been separated, let alone make up for the time they had spent apart. _Later_ , he thought, smiling when Jamie’s grip tightened for a moment in response.

* * *

“I’m sorry, miss, but we wondered whether you could help us?” The Doctor sounded a little plaintive as he tried in vain to get the girl’s attention back.

“Erm, Doctor...” Jamie tugged at his sleeve.

“Shush, Jamie. We wondered if -”

“Doctor!” Jamie pulled on his arm more forcefully. “I dinnae think the young lassie wants tae talk to us right now.” He gestured to Zoe and the girl, who looked as if they were frozen in place. “I think it might be a good idea tae leave them be, don’t you?”

“Oh!” The Doctor’s eyes widened as he realised what Jamie meant. “Oh, I see.” He patted Zoe on the shoulder. “Ah – congratulations, Zoe.”

The Doctor’s touch seemed to spark Zoe into action. “Zoe Heriot,” she said, holding out her hand to the other girl.

“Isobel Watkins.” Isobel shook Zoe’s hand a little tentatively. “I suppose you’d better come inside.”

“Ah – Jamie and I will give you two some space,” the Doctor announced. “Come along, Jamie, let’s go and see if we can find anywhere selling ice cream, shall we?”

Jamie turned to grin at the Doctor as they left. “Fancy that, eh? Our Zoe, finding her soulmate!”

* * *

“Goodbye, everyone.” The Doctor was already marching off across the field in search of the TARDIS. “Come along, Jamie.”

“Doctor!” Zoe called after him. “Isobel’s coming too, you know.”

“Isobel?” The Doctor turned to look at the pair of them. “Oh, yes, of course.”

“You don’t mind?” Isobel asked.

“Oh, no, of course not,” the Doctor said distractedly, his attention already turning back towards searching for the TARDIS. “I wouldn’t dream of insisting that you stay behind.”

“That’s settled, then.” Zoe squeezed Isobel’s arm, smiling brightly. “Welcome aboard the TARDIS, Isobel.”

Jamie grinned, nodding towards where the Doctor was wandering through the field with his arms stretched out before him. “If we ever find the TARDIS.”

* * *

“No!” Jamie pushed the Doctor behind him, shielding him from the other Time Lords. Zoe and Isobel stood beside them, clutching at each other, almost forgotten amongst the chaos. “I willnae let ye take him!”

The Doctor squeezed Jamie’s arm. “It’s not worth it, Jamie,” he said quietly. “There’s nothing we can do.”

Jamie turned to face him, his anger turning to worry. “What’re they going tae do to us?”

The Doctor cupped his face, closing his eyes to strengthen the mental connection between them. _Nothing good, I’m sure. But they’ll do even worse to you if you don’t cooperate. I don’t want to lose you either, but I’d much rather you were alive._

_Lose me?_

_They’re going to take you away, whatever I do. Zoe and Isobel, too. It’s just a matter of whether they kill you or send you home._

Jamie clutched at him, as if he thought they might not be separated if only he could hold on tight enough. _It’s going tae hurt._

_Yes, I’m afraid it will._

_You’ve given up._ Jamie sighed, leaning forward to touch his forehead against the Doctor’s. _I was hoping you’d come up with something at the last minute. I was trying tae buy us time._ The Doctor felt the tears stinging at Jamie’s eyes as if they were his own. Perhaps they were, he thought. Perhaps they were crying each other’s tears. _Ye don’t think we’re ever going tae see each other again, do ye?_

_I don’t know. Never give up hope, Jamie. That’s why I first fell in love with you – you never stopped having faith in me. And it’s why I want you to do something for me._

_Anything._

_When they take you, try and focus on our bond. Don’t let them break it, if you can._

_Aye, I’ll do my best._

_I know you will._ The Doctor opened his eyes, pulling away from the connection. The knowledge that he might never experience it again tore at his heart. His gaze lingered on Jamie’s face for a moment, drinking in the sight of him, trying to commit him to memory. “Goodbye, Jamie.”

Jamie let out a soft noise that could either have been a sob or a laugh, drawing the Doctor close to kiss him one last time. The Doctor fought the urge to let out a little whine of distress when he pulled away. “Goodbye, Doctor.” He squeezed the Doctor’s hand. _I love ye._

 _I love you, too._ The Doctor slipped his hand out of Jamie’s grip, clapping him on the arm instead. A safe spot. There were no sparks to remind him of everything he was losing. “Don’t go blundering into too much trouble, will you?”

Jamie grinned, and the Doctor’s hearts clenched at the sight. “Och, you’re a fine one tae talk.”

He turned to Zoe and Isobel instead, unable to keep looking at Jamie whilst still maintaining his composure. “I suppose I’ll have to take the Brigadier up on his job offer after all,” Isobel said.

“I’m sure you’ll be splendid.” The Doctor shook her hand, then held out his hand to Zoe. “Goodbye, Zoe.”

“Goodbye, Doctor.” Zoe’s expression remained composed, but he could see grief growing in her eyes. He wondered how long she would mourn her loss before her memories were erased, and she lost everything she had learnt during their travels. “Will we ever meet again?”

“Again? Now, Zoe, you and I know time is relative, isn’t it?” He watched Jamie, Zoe, and Isobel be led towards one of the TARDISes, managing a small smile when they waved goodbye. As the craft dematerialised, he turned to the Time Lord beside him. “They’ll forget me, won’t they?”

The Time Lord nodded, confirming his suspicions. The Doctor could see his lips moving, but heard nothing. Pain was flooding his mind, engulfing his senses, making him double over and clutch at his head. A part of his mind – the part that connected him to Jamie, the part that they had so carefully tended and strengthened for three years – was being carelessly ripped out. He wondered if Jamie felt the same pain, or whether the loss of his memories had numbed him to it. Colour was fading from his vision, as if Jamie was dying. He was, in a way, the Doctor thought. The person who Jamie had been was gone. He had been taken from himself as much as from the Doctor.

When he opened his eyes, he found himself kneeling on the floor, the other Time Lords clustered around him in curiosity and concern. “Is something wrong?” one of them asked. They pitied him, the Doctor realised with disgust. They had done this to him, taken his friends away, and they had the nerve to pity him.

“Jamie,” he gasped out. “You took Jamie away.” He was suddenly filled with a desire to make them understand the pain, though he knew they could never truly comprehend it. “You took my _soulmate_ away.”

“Come along.” The Time Lords swept out of the room, still cold and uncaring. “Your fate has been decided.”

* * *

Kneeling amongst the heather, Jamie plucked a sprig, turning it over in his hands curiously. Soft purple flowers, dark green leaves – it would have been beautiful were it not for the fact that he was alone. Sitting back on his heels, he glanced around at the sky, the hills, the distant smudge of grey-brown on the horizon that he knew was Inverness. A familiar landscape, but one eerily devoid of people, except for the occasional redcoat. He supposed that most people had fled or been driven away by now, if they had escaped the slaughter after the battle. Perhaps that was what had happened to the Doctor.

War drove some men mad, he knew. Perhaps he had succumbed to the madness himself. He knew that the Doctor, Ben, and Polly had left, but he could not remember how they had parted. They had not sailed to France, he knew that much, for he had guided them across the moors. The redcoat had found them – the Doctor had talked their way out of being captured – then a great expanse of nothingness. There was an image of them walking away across the moors, but even that seemed as though he had imagined it.

Somehow, he had wondered back towards the copse of trees where he had last seen the Doctor. Why had he been left behind? The Doctor had talked as if he was excited to have found his soulmate. Had he changed his mind? Had he decided that Jamie was too damaged from the war, or that he was not the person he wished to foster a bond with? It was hardly unheard of for soulmates to reject each other, after all.

The whistling of the wind through the trees made him snap to attention, something stirring deep within the void in his memory. There had been a sound, something like wind, but louder, more mechanical. He closed his eyes, trying to envision the scene. The Doctor taking his hand and leading him onwards, a light as bright as daylight, something impossibly big, and that sound – for a moment, he remembered it with such clarity that he could almost hear it. As the sound faded away, he opened his eyes.

A blue box was perched amongst the trees before him. One of the doors swung open with a creak, and Jamie caught a glimpse of an interior that was altogether too large for the box before it was obscured by someone stepping outside. He stared at Jamie wordlessly, looking almost as if he had seen a ghost. “Jamie,” he whispered almost reverently.

“Ye came back,” was all Jamie could manage. Another piece of the puzzle clicked into place. “Ye asked me tae come with ye! Why didn’t I come with ye, how could I have let ye go like that?”

The Doctor hurried over to wrap an arm around Jamie’s waist, guiding him towards the box as if worried his legs might give way beneath him. “You didn’t,” he said. “You came with us. Don’t strain yourself, it won’t help. You need time to adjust.”

“Adjust tae what?” Jamie clutched at the Doctor’s hand. “I dinnae understand what’s happening.”

The Doctor opened his mouth to speak, but was silenced when he looked down at their joined hands. Sparks were pouring out from between their fingers, a sight that was somehow achingly familiar to Jamie. “I haven’t seen them in so long,” he murmured. “Do you want to remember what really happened?” Jamie nodded, and the Doctor reached up to touch his fingers to his temples. Something pressed on the edges of Jamie’s mind, and he gasped and flinched away. _It’s quite alright, Jamie. It’s just me. Now, if I can find the right spot…_ The pressure increased a little, as if the Doctor was feeling his way around Jamie’s mind, looking for some way in. _Ah. There we are._

Jamie’s knees buckled under the weight of the deluge of thoughts that came pouring into his mind, memories and knowledge all slotting into place as if they had been there all along, his bond with the Doctor reopening like a flower unfurling in sunlight. The Doctor gave a cry of delight.

“Jamie! Jamie, I can see the colours again!” It seemed to take forever for Jamie’s head to stop spinning and the world to right itself again – and there was the Doctor, beaming down at him as if he was the most wondrous thing he had ever seen. “I thought I’d never find you again,” he said softly. He held his hand out to Jamie, and Jamie took it, letting himself be pulled upright. “Will you come with me?”

Jamie took the Doctor’s hand properly. “Always.” He grinned at the Doctor a little teasingly. “Where are we goin’?”

“Wherever the TARDIS takes us.”

“Same as ever, then?”

“Same as ever.


End file.
